Grabbing a soda and a bag of chips was the first thing senior Amol Rama would do when he got home from elementary school. He would excitedly turn on his Nintendo Wii and start playing Mario Kart with friends. Looking back on the experience, Rama feels that now, everyone is too occupied with their own lives and it is much harder to bond with people in the same way.

“It was more of just a place where I could connect with people,” Rama said. “[It’s] kind of like playing sports, [where you] can find people to hang out with and to talk to. It’s just something fun that [you] do [to] just take your mind off [something].”

Senior Dillon Huang says he used to play multiplayer games like Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart with his friends and family, allowing him to create valuable bonds with others at a young age. Huang notes how playing video games throughout his childhood has allowed him to improve his creativity, even through high school.

“I think [games] helped me grow my imagination and [learn] to think outside of the box,” Huang said. “[This] flourish of [my] imagination and creativity [has helped] whenever I needed to write essays. Even though I [play games] less now than before, it has [significantly] impacted my childhood.”

However, sophomore Shreyas Ravada has a different perspective, saying he still plays the same video games he did as a kid to keep in touch with his friends since he believes that “they are still fun even [when] you grow up.”

“We made fun memories and experiences to cherish for the rest of our lives,” Ravada said. “[Through games like Clash Royale], we made happy moments together.”

Rama adds that while he could make new friends through video games, it is hard to maintain genuine connections with his friends without seeing them first in person.

“[Since] people’s lives are different, I have not kept up with them [as much],” Rama said. “The people who I’ve kept up with [are] mostly because I’ve seen [and talked to] them in person about other stuff. But I still think it’s fun just having people to talk to [both virtually and in-person].”

Rama also mentioned that modern video games are much more complex and require a lot more money in order to “play well” in comparison to the games he used to play, which he believes takes away from the experience of gaming as a whole.

“The thing about modern games is that there is a lot of play to win [games],” Rama said. “It is not simple [like before] where you’re racing with your friends with a bunch of random characters [for] fun. Everyone’s more competitive now.”

Huang agrees with Rama and emphasizes how the simplicity and iconic value of older games allow him to reminisce.

“[When I go] to [places like] school dances [that] have stations for Super Smash Bros, I feel that wave of nostalgia hitting me and making me want to play them again,” Huang said. “I really like to see the characters move across the screen, and it really brings me back.”